Looking For Suggestions

treycaron

I've already posted this in the Software forum and have had very little success in getting feedback. So, I am posting here to see if I can a better response.

I am new to using IP cameras and the client/viewing software and need someone to point me in the right direction. What I am looking for is a third-party software for viewing Reolink cameras (C1-Pro x4) remotely that allows for more functionality than is currently offered by Reolink's client software. The current client software does have a lot of great features but, is lacking in the features that I would expect when Reolink advertises their product as a baby monitor/nanny-cam. In addition, Reolink advertises the C1-Pro as a way for extended families to check in on loved ones. I would suspect that most owners of these cameras don't want family peering into their lives 24-7 and inadvertently overhearing conversations that the camera owners may not want to have shared. Yes, I understand this may sound a little hypocritical when I am handing outsiders (family members) a way to view a tiny slice of our home life, but it's also not an unrealistic expectation. The feature that I am ultimately seeking is a way to restrict the times of day that particular users are able to access the cameras.

So I ask again have any other users found a reliable (pay or opensource) 3rd-Party software that they like better than the Reolink Client Software? Preferably I don't want the users viewing the cameras to have to go through a ton of steps to view the stream. I am good at tech, but everyone else is not and having them log in to IP addresses or websites and saving logins to browsers is not something I am interested in using.

TIA

Trey

Crimp On

I do not know of any 3rd party apps that will work with Reolink cameras. Have you considered this:

Power the Reolink camera with a "Smart Plug". Several companies sell devices that plug into a wall outlet and turn their own outlet "on" and "off" according to schedules or events you set up. The TP-Link Mini WiFi Smart Plug says that you can set up a schedule to turn things on and off. https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-Occupies-HS105-Wall-Light-Electronic-Component-switches/dp/B01K1JVZOE/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1543884955&sr=8-3&keywords=tp-link+smart+plug. The user manual on page 7 talks about setting up schedules for when it turns on and off. TP-Link's "Kasa" system allows you to group plugs into "scenes" and have a bunch of them do things together (like four cameras). They also claim to interface with IFTTT (If This Then That) which might allow you to turn them all on when you leave the house and off when you return.

I've glanced at reviews of Smart Plugs and people seem to think some have more or better features in one area or another.

I do not own any Smart Plugs (yet), so I have no experience with how they work (or what about them drives people crazy).

Anyway, you could try one for under $20 and see if it is useful.

treycaron

Crimp -

Thanks for the idea, but having the cameras power off would completely negate the reason for having the cameras in the first place. My spouse travels for work and uses them to check in with us while away. I want more control of when “Common Users” are able to log into the cameras. Since I have multiple users logging on to the cameras, I would like issue different permissions for those users. This is not a far fetched idea and kind of surprised that Reolink has possibly overlooked this feature.

Plus having the cameras constantly power cycling down leaves too much room for local errors ie network connection failure, SmartPlug failures, etc. I’d also be concerned with the long term wear on the parts from the camera constantly calibrating every time it turns back on several times a day. Additionally, having my spouse use an app to turn on a SmartPlug to then wait for the camera to boot, calibrate and connect when she only has 2 minutes between meetings while on client sites or about to catch a flight is not a viable solution.

I was looking at Blue Iris the only issue with this is the Client-ware has to constantly be running. Not sure if I want to spare an entire machine to run client-ware. There are quite a few IP camera viewer apps available, some pay and some not, but what I really need is better client-ware that allows me to assign permissions for certain users.